Our favorite chocolate chip cookies recipe using basic ingredients! Deliciously chewy chocolate chip cookies with step-by-step photos and tips!
Before food blogs were big, I discovered my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe (years back.) No matter how many recipes I’ve tried, I keep coming back to this classic! I’ve adopted from Hershey’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies and this recipe has grown from there. It is my ultimate favorite cookie recipe with improvements!
Equipment Used:
- Purple Cookie Scoop- One of the best heavy duty scoops! I’ve owned cheap ones and this doesn’t click out of place.
- Silpat Mats- So nice to have, bake breads, cookies and so much more.
- Large Cookie Sheets- Essential to own large baking sheets!
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- 16 oz unsalted butter
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
How to Make Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Pre-heat oven to 380°F. In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugars. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat well. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt) until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.- Scoop and roll into balls.
- Arrange onto a baking sheet at least 3 inches apart.
- Bake 11 minutes. Cool before serving.
Notes
Nutrition per serving
Q&A
What makes a cookie chewy?
I’ve noticed the sugar content has much to do with the chewiness factor. Since sugars are like crystals, using lots of them and then baking them will give you texture! Especially brown sugar due to the molasses content.
Why are my cookies flat?
Too much butter will result in flat and spread-out cookies. Too much flour will do the opposite.
How do you keep chocolate chip cookies soft?
If you want a soft cookie, bake lightly until there is just a tint of brown. Put in a tight container while still warm. I’ve heard storing a piece of bread with the cookies keep them soft too. Although, I do think recipes that call for shortening and margarine will result in softer cookies as those ingredients stay soft even when chilled.
How to prevent hard chocolate chip cookies:
Over baking and too much butter or too much sugar can result in hard and crispy cookies. Proportion is key!
How do you get perfect looking cookies?
The way cookies are scooped before baking will impact on the final result, so if you want those chewy and photogenic bakery style cookies follow these tips:
- Scoop your cookie dough out and roll into balls. Cookie dough balls bake better and appear thick.
- For an extra chewy looking cookie pinch off a small piece of dough and place it right on top of the rolled balls of dough. The layers melt together and create a super chewy cookie. This is also how I made the cookies in these photos.
- And if you want your cookie to show off chocolate pieces poke additional chocolate chips right on top of warm baked cookies. They will settle right into the dough as if they baked that way.
Big batch chocolate chip cookies:
If you’re going to get your hands dirty you might as well get a good-sized batch out of it. Making lots of cookie dough that you can partially reserve for a later use is a wise investment. So consider having some refrigerator or freezer dough from this recipe!
Can you freeze cookie dough?
Yes! Roll into balls and flash freeze! Then place into bags and freeze. Bake straight from the freezer whenever you want cookies!
Can you make homemade refrigerator dough like Nestle?
Yes! I’ve made big batches of cookie dough to store in the fridge for when I wanted to make fresh cookies! However, one thing to keep in mind is that an all-butter cookie dough will be too solid to scoop out later, so you may want to substitute shortening or some margarine in place of butter for scoop easy cookies.
Tips
- Roll cookie dough batter into balls for thick cookies. Place an additional piece of picked off dough on top for extra chewy looking cookies.
- Can keep cookie batter in the fridge for up-to 4 days. Use a heavy duty ice cream scoop to shape them.
- Omit the salt and add salted butter instead.
- Chop your favorite chocolate bar into chunks for the chocolate chips.
